Newscasts - China EV brands Zeekr, Neta inflated car sales to hit targets

ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Holding

21/07/2025 15:57

Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_icax1ru7&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RW137621072025RP1_930&pageId=Newscasts
Source: 'Reuters - Business videos'

Description: Chinese car brands Neta and Zeekr inflated sales in recent years using insurance schemes to hit aggressive targets, a Reuters investigation found. Rachel Graham reports.

Short Link: https://refini.tv/4m9Eh6q

Video Transcript:

Chinese electric vehicle brands Zeekr and Neta inflated sales to hit aggressive targets. That's according to documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with dealers and buyers. Documents from recent years show both companies arranged for cars to be insured before they were sold to buyers. This enabled them to book sales early under Chinese industry car registration practices, so they could hit monthly and quarterly targets, sources said. Documents show Neta used this method for over 64,000 cars, more than half of vehicles sold from January 2023 to March 2024. Meanwhile, premium EV brand Zeekr used the same method to book early sales in late 2024, Reuters interviewees said. Vehicles booked as sold before reaching a buyer are called "zero-mileage used cars" in the Chinese auto industry. The practice has emerged out of cutthroat competition for sales in the world's largest auto market. The industry faces a moment of reckoning, with state media calling out the zero-mileage car practice. Meanwhile, China's cabinet has pledged to regulate irrational competition.